It is what I obtain from CA board of accounting in Nov. 2011:

"Candidates who pass the examination receive a letter describing the remaining steps in the licensing process. The letter that I believe you are referring to no longer exists. Although the letter was very different from the actual paper certificate of licensure, the Board heard testimony that a number of candidates were using that letter in a way that implied that they were licensed as a CPA - when in fact they were not licensed at all. *

Is it weird that we, as cpa candidates,  make so much efforts to pass all the four sections of cpa exams, then it turns out that there is no such a letter or a relative document to approve of it?

How about other states?  Is it just a new rule from CA?